Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus and methods for performing selective deposition processes.
Description of the Related Art
Epitaxial deposition processes are commonly utilized techniques for depositing various semiconductor device structures. For example, the source and drain regions of a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) may be deposited via epitaxial processes. Epitaxial deposition is often utilized where a highly ordered crystalline structure is desirable. In addition, epitaxially deposited layers may also be doped to alter the electrical and compositional characteristics. As such, epitaxial deposition processes have gained widespread utilization in the semi-conductor arts.
However, epitaxial deposition processes are generally time consuming and have adverse effects on throughput in semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, various device processing schemes utilize post epitaxial deposition etching processes which remove the epitaxially deposited material, which may be undesirable. Current processing schemes often utilize a “loss budget” of the epitaxially deposited layer by depositing a greater amount of the epitaxial film than is often necessary to form a device to account for subsequent losses through etching. However, depositing additional amounts of an epitaxially deposited layer is time consuming and further reduces throughput.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved semiconductor processing methods and apparatus suitable for performing such methods.